Unknown Knight

After a period of hard work, the idle people in the territory found a new direction of their efforts. They were vying to live in a large detached house like the protagonist in "My Happy Life" and have meat to eat every day. The young guys also wanted to marry a beautiful wife like him.

After work every day, the subjects with spare money would meet up with a few friends to go to the pub for a drink, or go to the bathroom to take a hot bath, or go to the store to buy some new tables and chairs for their homes just like in the scene in "My Happy Life". Those who have new girlfriends would also spend money to buy tickets to go to the theater with their girlfriends to watch a newly rehearsed stage play.

This brand-new lifestyle not only makes everyone feel novel, but also fulfilled and satisfied. It also makes them full of hope for the future. They feel that their future life is becoming more and more promising, and they are more and more motivated when working.

The whole territory was in a new mood, full of vitality and vigor. The idlers and frequent conflicts were no longer seen on the streets. People were no longer discussing gambling, scandals, or ghost rumors, but which skilled jobs were now expensive, what new plays were being staged in the theater, and what fine linens were being stocked in the shops.

When the academician Yaman asked Aix why there were such big changes in the territory, this habitual pretentious criminal said something inscrutable:

“Production relations determine the social landscape. You can call this change the progress of civilization.”

With the implementation of Aix's series of policies and measures, the atmosphere in the entire territory has become active, the lives of the people have grown exponentially, and the economy has also made great progress. Now the territory can produce not only snow salt and leather products, but also high value-added products such as weapons, armor, and furniture. When the olives and grapes are harvested in the second half of the year, olive oil and wine can also be produced.

With the first season of wheat harvest, the food problem has been completely solved. Now the people in the territory are all rosy-cheeked, no longer pale and thin as before, but they are still not satisfied. They fantasize about being like the male protagonist in "My Happy Life":

Drinking new ale from Dehrim, eating white bread made from local wheat, dipped in honey from Uxhall, with side dishes of dried meat from Suno and smoked fish from Wocherze, wearing clothes made of fine linen from Sagos, boots made from local leather, and a mink hat from Vaegir on his head...

While the territory was developing rapidly and the various products produced were selling well in the surrounding cities, Aix was unaware that his economic behavior had inadvertently disturbed the food in other people's pots, and dark arrows with sinister winds were silently shooting at him.

First, someone spread the rumor that the snow salt he sold was not produced from an unknown island in the North Sea, but was produced somewhere in the Kingdom of Swadia. He sold it secretly, causing King Harlaus to lose a lot of tax silver in vain.

Then there were rumors that he manipulated the price of olive oil, buying low and selling high, making huge profits, while also making it impossible for nobles in many places to afford olive oil.

Then, there were rumors that he was a spy of the Nordic Kingdom, a hidden pawn sent by King Ragnar to the Swadia Kingdom. The bandits who had been causing a lot of trouble some time ago were controlled by him behind the scenes, with the purpose of destroying the economy of the Swadia Kingdom and weakening the kingdom.

These were all reliable and well-founded rumors. There were also rumors that he was the illegitimate son of the former King Eastrich and a Khergit slave girl, and that he came to Swadia to usurp the throne of King Harlaus; that he had the Swadian Kingdom's heirloom sword and was the kingdom's orthodox inheritance; and that his ultimate goal was to wipe out the other royal families of the six kingdoms. There was even a prophecy that 'when one king appears, all kings will fall', and so on. There were all kinds of bizarre rumors.

In short, these unfavorable rumors spread everywhere, filling the entire Swadian Kingdom. These rumors also reached Aix's ears, but he didn't take them seriously. He relied on his last conversation with King Harlaus and thought that he was still trusted by the king. King Harlaus must think that this was a trick played by the Dilinard family or Edenyar, and he should not be affected by such low-level rumors.

He even thought that as long as he handed over the nominal profit of olive oil in time, he didn't need to think too much about other things. In addition, he had little contact with other nobles in his country except King Harlaus, so he always stayed away from the noble circle of his country, and had no idea of ​​the public opinion in the high-level circle of the kingdom. He also forgot the wise saying of his ancestors: "Gossip can melt gold, and accumulated criticism can destroy bones."

He was now obsessed with developing the territory as soon as possible, forming an invincible army as soon as possible, marrying Miss Tsuna as soon as possible, and standing firmly at the top of the food chain of this continent as soon as possible.

But on this day, Desevi, who was scouting the territory, suddenly reported that King Harlaus's flag appeared on the outskirts of the territory, and he was leading an army of more than 300 people towards the core area of ​​the territory.

When Aix heard this, he immediately panicked. King Harlaus's sudden arrival made him look like a checkpoint. Frightened, he quickly gathered more than 20 cavalrymen and more than 30 infantrymen to greet him. The two sides met on the avenue.

Before Aix finished his greetings and could speak, King Harlaus said:

"My Lord Earl, I heard that your territory has been plagued by bandits recently. I am here with my troops to see if you need any help."

Aix quickly agreed:

"Your Highness, I am worried. I am also preparing to organize forces to wipe them out. However, they are moving around in this area, and their exact nest has not been found for the time being. But don't worry, Your Highness. Once their nest is found, I can wipe them out on my own. Your Highness, don't worry."

"Oh, you mean my trip is unnecessary?"

King Harlaus' tone was obviously wrong, so Aix hurriedly explained:

"I dare not, I dare not. It's just that such a small matter has alarmed Your Highness. I am very frightened and I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Aix's hasty apology made King Harlaus feel much better. Under Aix's leadership, the group came to the village that served as a planting site to rest.

King Harlaus rode around the village and said to Aix:

"Your village is well built. It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Aix hurriedly complained:

"Your Highness, you are joking. I don't have the money to build this village. The bandits were really bad, so I had no choice but to work together to build this village. The wood was cut from the nearby forest, and the stones were picked up from the hillside. After the village was built, the people of the territory finally lived a peaceful life for a few days."

"Why not build a village on the original site of Talboliya Village? I remember that village was in the valley. Wouldn't it be easier to defend?"

King Harlaus seemed to be very familiar with the situation in Aix and even knew the terrain of a village.

After hearing his question, Aix said awkwardly:

“So that Your Highness knows, I originally built a village on the ruins of Tarbolia on the mountain, but I had a huge profit to turn over and a large number of people to support, so I had no choice but to open a leather workshop there.

Your Highness may not know that this leather workshop has a terrible stench, and the smell cannot be dispersed in the valley. Living in such an environment for a long time will easily lead to disease. That is why I and my subjects have to move to the foot of the mountain to live."

"Oh, really? Show me."

King Harlaus obviously didn't believe it, and he pulled up the reins to go to the village of Talboliya. Aix had no choice but to lead the way. But just when they were halfway, a strong stench came, choking everyone and making them cry. Even the horse under King Harlaus's seat neighed and whirled, refusing to move forward. The accompanying royal doctor also came over to persuade them:

"Your Highness, this air is too smelly. Breathing too much will damage your lungs and eyes, or..."

The wealthy King Harlaus looked at the wall of the fortress which was already in sight and hesitated. He called Aix to ask:

"Does this place always stink this bad? Or is it just like this today?"

Aix knew that King Harlaus was wavering, so he stepped forward and said awkwardly:

"Your Highness, please forgive me. This place has always been smelly, and it gets even smellier as you go in. I have bought slaves and criminals from my territory to work here, and most of them have lung disease. Look at the wall outside, it was built to prevent them from escaping. I have no choice but to do this because of the great pressure."

Axe deliberately made the word "lung disease" very clear. Lung disease was a nearly terminal illness these days. Once infected, it was equivalent to receiving a death notice and one would die soon. Moreover, the disease could be transmitted through the air, which made people of that era shudder at the mention of it.

These words persuaded King Harlaus. He pulled the reins, turned his horse around and walked down the mountain, saying hypocritically:

"You still claim to be a good person, but slaves are also human beings. Why don't you think of a solution?"

Axel hurriedly agreed and followed him towards the village at the foot of the mountain.

It turned out that when Aix heard that King Harlaus was coming in person, he knew that he must have believed the rumors and came here to find out the truth. If he was really allowed to enter the village and knew that Tarbolia had so many subjects and was such a prosperous village, he would dare to ask Aix for even 3,000 or 5,000 silver coins, let alone the annual profit of 1,200 silver coins. It was not impossible that he could find a reason to punish Aix and directly take the territory for himself.

He was worried at that time. He rode his horse to the outer village and saw the leather workshop pumping out sewage. So he came up with a plan. He asked the people in the leather workshop to pump out all the accumulated sewage and then sprinkle it near the road into the village. As if that was not enough, he asked Yamanti to organize people to clean out the toilets in the city and sprinkle it all over.

Aix knew about this kind of sewage. The leather workshop was originally placed in the southeast corner of the outer village because there were only northeast and southwest winds blowing nearby all year round. They were afraid that the wind would blow the stench from the workshop to the residential area. Aix had personally experienced the smell of this sewage. When he came to watch, he was almost suffocated. So he asked them to collect the sewage, put it in barrels, and drain it to a hidden valley far away every day.

Unexpectedly, King Harlaus' surprise inspection today actually made these sewage useful. He was still worried on the way to the village. What if King Harlaus ignored the preciousness of his body and really insisted on forcing his way into the core area of ​​the territory? He didn't know what to do. Should he turn hostile? Or should he kill the king?